1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of kayaks for use in water sport activities.
2. Description of Prior Art
At some time in the mists of prehistory, the Inuit discovered that a durable, lightweight, waterproof boat could be constructed from sealskins stretched tightly over a seal bone frame. Various improvements were made in these small, portable boats, over the years. One of the best known is version in which the user, dressed in warm, waterproof clothing, slides himself into the interior of the boat through a small opening at the top, forming a watertight seal between his clothing and the opening, in a sense becoming one with the boat. With half of the combined weight of his body, clothing and the boat below the waterline, he can easily roll the boat through a 360° circuit and emerge upright, after having been submerged in the icy waters for a very short time. While he might, at worst, experience a mouthful of salt water, his boat cannot be permanently capsized, and he will not drown, even if he, like many Inuit, cannot swim.
These skin boats were called qayaq in the Inuit language, from which we derive the word kayak. Sports enthusiasts—and ordinary people who just enjoy being in the sun and cruising along in the water—have discovered the utility and simplicity of kayaks. They are now popular everywhere that aquatic activities are practiced. Naturally, man's ingenuity continues to add refinements to the basic Inuit concept. But its fundamental features have remained the same.
For example, while many kayaks, following the original qayaq design, are rigid, others are inflatable. One of many such designs is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,421, which is fully incorporated herein by reference. Such a design has the advantage of being collapsible, for easy storage and transportation. However, like all collapsible devices, some means must be provided to re-inflate or otherwise re-assemble such a kayak for use. This may prove difficult, or at least inconvenient. Accordingly, most sporting kayaks, today, are of rigid construction, which not only obviates the need for re-assembly at the location of usage, but also provides increased structural integrity. In that respect, among others, the Inuit were correct.
Those who enjoy kayaking also seek to augment their experience by integrating the basic sport of kayaking with other activities. In a sense, they are simply following the original Inuit concept. Just as the Inuit, modern kayakers also use them for fishing, for example. The problem has been in what to do with the fishing gear. Of course, it can be strapped to the top of the kayak, in transverse orientation, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,527, which is fully incorporated herein by reference. Indeed, even the paddle can be transversely mounted, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,145, which is likewise fully incorporated herein by reference. While there is nothing particularly wrong with transverse mounting of fishing poles or paddles, in a utilitarian sense, the overall configuration appears clumsy and awkward. After all, one of the pleasant aspects of water sports, generally, is the feeling of smoothly gliding through the water, like a fish or dolphin. These designs would appear to interfere with that aesthetic sense.
Similarly, kayakers enjoy bringing along refreshments and other items, such as beverage coolers, radios, TV sets, CD or DVD players, additional fishing gear, books . . . whatever their individual interests dictate. Many inventors have provided means to store such items in kayaks, in various ways. Exemplary are those shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,739,720; 5,605,112; 6,050,213; and 6,840,190; and in Published U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/280,300 (Publication No. US 2004/0079273 A1)—all of these fully incorporated herein by reference. But the problem with these and the other conceptually similar designs is that the storage means are awkward, even ugly, and, perhaps even worse, seem to integrate poorly into the overall kayak design. As has been said previously, kayaking is, after all, an aesthetic experience. Bulky, projecting items detract from that sense of joining the other aquatic creatures.
A corollary problem is that of passengers. Of course, it is possible to enjoy a day in the water alone. But there are few activities that are best enjoyed alone. Man is a social creature. People need to share their fun with others. So the question arises: Where do you place your kayak passenger . . . or passengers?
U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,551 (“Beres”), which is fully incorporated herein by reference, seeks to answer that question. In that patent, hatch covers 28 and/or 30 can be removed and replaced with utility receptacles 96 and/or 98, respectively. Beres suggests that these can be used as a child's seat (see, description of his FIG. 7 and reference to element 104).
In the particular configuration chosen by Beres, whose motive power is provided by pedals operated by the driver, spinning a propeller at the rear extremity of a drive shaft, there is little space within the kayak for storage. Because of the manner in which the kayak is driven, it is necessary for the driver to sit within the kayak, with legs essentially extended, or at least bent with knees upward. In practical reality, the design of such a kayak would almost necessitate there being a relatively long distance between the back of the seat 22 and the pedals 10, so that the driver can provide strong thrust without cramping his or her legs. This would mean that the forward utility receptacle 96 would have to be quite shallow, or otherwise near the forward end of the kayak. This, in turn, means that if a child's seat were installed in one of the spaces 58 left by a removed utility receptacle, it would most like have to be the aft one. But this would mean that the driver could not constantly monitor the activities of the child passenger, who would probably be quite small, due to the apparently small size of the available seating. The fact that the drive shaft is in the aft portion of the kayak further contributes to the small size of the seat.
Furthermore, since the Beres utility receptacles fit through large, horizontal openings in the top of his kayak and extend far downward into the space 58, there would be little room for anything else to be stored in the interior of his kayak, even if ordinary paddles were used instead of the peddle mechanism taught there. Where, for example, would the fishing pole and other fishing gear, or radio, or TV set, or beverage cooler be stored? In the Beres design, a few small things might be storable in one or both of the utility receptacles, but certainly nothing very long, such as a fishing pole or extra paddle. Beres' large, horizontal hatches also reduce the structural integrity of the kayak, necessitating structural reinforcement or considerable risk of collapse.
More efficient kayak designs have recently been developed, with increased interior space usable as a storage hold. In such designs, a superficial hatch cover may be provided to seal off hatch access to the hold to prevent water intrusion into the hold. While some of these designs may provide increased storage space, none provides easy access for storage and retrieval of long items, such as fishing poles. Furthermore, none of these designs provides passenger seating at or near a forward hatch that does not materially reduce the storage volume of the hold.
Additionally, no kayak has been provided with a secured or integral topside enclosure that can be rendered watertight, for use as a bait tank or other liquid-containing device, with a cover upon which a person may sit while fishing, together with one or more additional storage enclosures, transverse to the first enclosure, where, preferably, the covers of these additional storage enclosures may essentially be at the plane of the first enclosure for expanded seating.